Worldpokerdeals' Multidisciplinary Review Process

At Worldpokerdeals.com, we are, above all else, poker players. We firmly believe that only a poker player with sufficient experience can recommend where to place its chips. The industry (through the iGB Awards) has entrusted us with various trophies, and we honor these through a rigorous selection process to ensure that only the best online poker sites make it onto our lists.

To accomplish this, we have designed a multidisciplinary process that encompasses all areas of knowledge that can affect a poker player's long-term experience, which we have called the WPD Decalogue of Safe and Profitable Gaming. However, before diving into the list, let's list the people who are part of this process, as they are its cornerstone.

How do we review poker sites

We have defined 10 key criteria against which we evaluate each online poker room.

• 🔒 Security
• ⭐ Background
• ♦️ Games and traffic
• 💸 Costs
• 🎁 Rakeback and promotions
• 🖥️ Software
• 📱 Mobile experience
• 💬 Customer service
• 🌱 Ecosystem
• 🚀 Continuous improvement

Now, let's take a closer look at each of these points.

🔒 Security

For us, the security of a poker room is the most important issue a site must address, and that's why we've divided it into several aspects:

Game security

In an online poker site, you literally have to trust a screen. You can't see your opponents' expressions, and there's no floor manager watching for unusual situations. You can't see how the cards are shuffled, and you can only trust that the software is transparent. However, you don't have to trust blindly. We perform technical reviews so you can focus solely on playing.

⚙️ What do we do?

We play. We listen to the most experienced players who, with just their intuition, can identify if something strange is happening. We also verify the documentation (RNG certificate, smart contracts). We verify the operating license and its reliability. We read the terms and conditions to ensure there are no clauses that could harm players.

People safety

It's clear to everyone that although poker is a game of skill, it can pose a problem for some players, and it's often played in casinos.

⚙️ What do we do?

We verify the site's commitment to responsible gambling. We study their support programs, simulate self-exclusions, and contact customer service to verify their response.

Money security

There's a golden rule when it comes to online poker: player funds must be kept segregated (separate) from the site's operations; they cannot be used for promotions, salaries, or any other type of operating expense. Adhering to this rule is the foundation of any operator's financial health.

⚙️ What do we do?

We withdraw funds. From different countries. We track the time it takes. All the obstacles that arise in the process. We verify the existing payment methods and their viability in the country where they are offered. We ensure that the applicable fees are only those necessary to cover operating costs. We review the withdrawal policy and legal documentation to compare the established limits with reality.

Information security

Data is the new oil, say the experts. Therefore, online poker sites must implement all necessary security measures to protect their users.

⚙️ What do we do?

We verify compliance with international data and information security standards (ISO 27001:2022, ISO/IEC 27001, NIST SOP 800-30, ISO 31000) and the use of tools such as SSL encryption, compliance certificates, and others. We also analyze the terms to identify what data is captured and how it is managed.

⭐ Background

A poker room's experience isn't measured solely in years. It's measured in results, community, and the collective feeling towards it.

⚙️ What do we do?

We gather feedback from our active player community. We ask inactive players why they stopped playing. We verify the opinions of external communities and colleagues in the industry. We study the management team behind the poker site and verify their combined experience.

♦️ Games and traffic

There's an important difference between the games offered in the lobby (which can be endless) and those that actually have traffic. A room's main asset is its players, and we check where they actually sit to compete.

⚙️ What do we do?

We evaluate the lobby at different times to identify traffic across all formats (American, European, Asian). We sit at the poker tables to test the quality of the opponents, how much money they play with, etc.

💸 Costs

Playing online poker isn't free. Although it might seem that way to many, the most common costs include withdrawal fees, currency exchange charges, and, of course, the rake structure for different games.

⚙️ What do we do?

We do the numbers. We check all the costs a player incurs to play in different poker rooms: rake, withdrawal fees, even currency exchange. The rake structure is evaluated by the number of players at the table and per game. We try to do this for different formats (cash games, tournaments, Spin & Go, etc.).

🎁 Rakeback and promotions

The costs of playing are offset, to some extent, by promotions. Poker sites reinvest a significant portion of the money raised in organizing various events, including direct rakeback, rake races, lotteries, and more.

⚙️ What do we do? 

We use the calculator again and do the complicated calculations that no one else wants to do: effective rake and rakeback by adding up the fees paid and all the promotions received, taking into account the number of players per table and the estimated monthly volume. We also thoroughly study the terms and conditions of the promotions to ensure they are challenging and realistic.

🖥️ Software

When it comes to online poker, the software is literally the vehicle for playing. One of the most important processes in our evaluation is testing all the software's functions on different computers.

⚙️ What do we do? 

We play. Enough hands to test all the application's features. We open as many tables as possible to check if the software works properly. We verify compatibility with third-party software. In short, we push the software to its limits and record every moment in a log.

📱 Mobile experience

The mobile experience could be included as an additional point in the software evaluation. However, we feel that smartphone use is so widespread among the new generation that it deserves independent evaluation.

⚙️ What do we do?

We conduct tests on the most popular platforms on the market (iOS, Android) and keep some older phones and tablets to check for legacy compatibility. We test all the games, play long tournaments, and try to do so from various locations (public transportation, public places, etc.).

💬 Customer service

How an online poker room treats its players says a lot about it. Customer service is vital for players to feel part of a community and not just customers of a business.

⚙️ What do we do?

We anonymously contact poker rooms through all advertised channels: we write emails, send live chat messages, and call support lines, asking everything from the simplest questions (how do I install the software?) to regionally specific inquiries.

🌱 Ecosystem

The true dream of online poker is that any player, with enough effort, can become a world champion. For this to be possible, the tables need to be properly balanced between recreational and professional players.

⚙️ What do we do?

We monitor our players' results to identify if the room is doing a good job of focusing its efforts on attracting different player profiles. We complement this with data analytics through partnerships with specialized providers. Finally, we evaluate the focus of the promotions; these must satisfy the different audiences the room wants to attract.

🚀 Continuous improvement

Once a poker site is added to our list, it undergoes a continuous evaluation process. Simply passing the filters in the first evaluation isn't enough; that would be like taking a picture and forgetting about it.

⚙️ What do we do?

We turn this ten-point guide into a checklist that we apply every six months to the poker rooms already evaluated (every three months if significant changes occur), and as an initial filter for adding new ones.

Checklist for evaluating a poker site

In our team we have pilots, and thanks to them we have learned that the best way to standardize a process is to create a checklist that includes all the points that must be evaluated:

Evaluation team

• Active players: Our community of players is our primary source of information. We have a team of scouts who test new online poker room prospects, and we gather ongoing feedback on the operations of our current partners.
• Affiliates: that's what we like to call the internal team at Worldpokerdeals. From former professional grinders and graphic designers to writers, everyone has a voice in this process.
• Software developers: we turn to the development experts on our team to compare modern interface and user experience requirements with the technical features of the software offered by the poker rooms.
• Retired players: a significant part of the community is made up of retired players. They experienced the golden age of the game, even though they've chosen other career paths. Their opinions are key to ensuring the industry doesn't go down the wrong path.
• Outsiders: one of the best strategies we've found is introducing poker sites to people outside the industry. A fresh perspective always helps identify things that escape the experts' notice.

How we rate poker sites

This evaluation process has a clear and verifiable result: the numerical rating of the evaluated poker site. This is the final deliverable for the poker community, and it condenses our professional opinion into a clear and objective form. We use this result to create the various rankings on our website, and it serves as the raw material for all the content we publish.

Some indicators may carry more or less weight for a specific player depending on their experience or particular requirements; however, the following table presents the general consensus of our evaluation team.

Value proposition

Our value proposition for our reviews aligns with our editorial principles. You will always find reliable, verified, and up-to-date information, uninfluenced by external parties or incentives of any kind. We only publish the opinions of our review team.

Got a question?

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Got a question? Let's chat:

Juan David

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Head of Worldpokerdeals LatAm, Managing Editor & Author

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